Eagles may have cheated themselves by failing to interview Bruce Arians

#Eagles should be kicking themselves for never having given Bruce Arians a chance.

PHILADELPHIA — We begin this argument by first clearing up a major misconception about Bruce Arians.

The Arizona Cardinals head coach is "traditional" and "old school" only in the sense that he once worked for University of Alabama legend Bear Bryant, his teams still huddle between plays and have Tuesdays off on regular work weeks.

Don't believe that? Just ask his quarterback, Carson Palmer, at or near the top of a short list of favorites to be named league MVP this season. Unlike Eagles counterpart Sam Bradford, who's feeling more comfortable in the team's offense every week, Palmer claims the opposite is true with him.

"I don't know if I am really comfortable with anything in it," Palmer said earlier this season, his third under Arians. "As soon as you feel like you've got it, something new gets added. And it's not one or two things, but it's a handful of things.

Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has called Arians a "mad scientist" for constantly finding new ways to get players involved and create mismatches.

"It's the most fun, most diverse, complex and most evolving offense I have been in for sure," said the 35-year-old Palmer, who's been in the league since 2004.

Arians' "traditional" offense averages 418 yards per game, best in the NFL. The Cardinals score 31 points per game, second best in the league. Palmer leads the league in yards per attempt (8.84) and is second in passer rating (107.2), yards (4,003) and TD passes (31) His touchdown-to-interception ratio (31-9) is third best in the league.

Palmer, it should be noted, was known more for his underachievments than anything else before Arians rescued him from the Oakland Raiders in 2013 for the bargain-basement price of two low-round draft picks, or much less than the Eagles gave up for Sam Bradford.

If only the Eagles would have made the time to listen to Arians' pitch for their head coaching job when they had the chance in 2013, the course of history within the franchises who will be doing battle tonight at Lincoln Financial Field might have been altered.

They didn't. In fact, after spending all kinds of time with the likes of Brian Kelly, Mike Nolan, Dirk Koetter, Ken Whisenhunt and almost a half-dozen others who never had a realistic chance, they decided they wouldn't even bother with Arians, pulling the plug on a scheduled interview before it happened.

"I never got an answer, other than `Thanks, but no thanks,' " said Arians, who actually was going through an interview process with the Chicago Bears when the Eagles broke the news.

The Eagles weren't the only ones. The Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers also had second thoughts about meetings they had set up with Arians and decided not to bother.

"That day I was at the Bears, three of the teams decided to go in different directions," Arians said. "I was probably more disappointed because I thought I had the Bears job, and it was like a double whammy."

Even more, as it turned out, for the teams that passed.

The Browns, Chargers, Bears and Eagles enter this weekend with a combined 17-35 record. All are below .500 and none will be making the playoffs. In fact, Cleveland and Chicago already have made coaching changes since hiring the men they thought more of than Arians.

The Cardinals, of course, are 11-2 and 32-13 since Arians fell to them much the way University of Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino fell to the Miami Dolphins in 1983.

In beginning his quest for Andy Reid's successor following the conclusion of the 2012 season, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie made it clear what he wanted in his new coach.

"What you've got to find is somebody who is strategic, somebody who is a strong leader, somebody who is very comfortable in his own skin," he said then. "That, to me, is probably one of the top traits, because players today see right through it if you're not. If you're a salesman coach, that's not going to work.

"I'm looking for someone that's innovative, somebody that is not afraid to take risks, somebody that looks [at] and studies the league and studies the college world and decides what the best [strategies] are on offense and defense and special teams and can execute it with their coaches so that you take advantage of trends ... in terms of where the game is at and where it's going."

Sound like anyone?

Could be that Lurie and his committee picked the right guy anyway when Chip Kelly was selected. This process hasn't played out yet, so just because Arians is running out in front after nearly three seasons doesn't necessarily mean he'll still be there in three more, which will be the ultimate litmus test.

But the Eagles owed it to themselves and their fans then to at least meet with the select few candidates who met Lurie's requirements when they had a chance.